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What happens if you make instant noodles with Coca-Cola instead of water?

Oona McGee May 16, 2023
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We try a “forbidden” flavour you may never be able to return from ever again!

It was a relatively quiet day in the office when our reporter P.K. Sanjun came up with the idea to make noodles with Coca-Cola.

Those around him shook their heads and scoffed at the idea, but P.K. was adamant, saying, “I don’t reckon it’ll be so bad that I won’t be able to eat it”. Plus, he figured the combination might not be so crazy, given that noodle makers Nissin were currently running a campaign with Coca-Cola, saying the top-selling drink was a good partner for their top-selling instant yakisoba, UFO.

▼ UFO’s rich sauce and Coke’s “exhilarating stimulation” is said to be a powerful combination.

Image: Press Release

Of course, Nissin is suggesting customers drink the carbonated beverage as is, while enjoying the noodles, but we all know a suggestion like that is only going to encourage someone like P.K. to take things a step further.

So he went out and got himself a bottle of Coke and a cup of UFO, and as part of the tie-up campaign, customers who purchase both get a free pack of extra meat bits.

P.K. was confused. “Am I meant to eat this on its own too? Or add it to the mix?”

Feeling like this pack of meat was making him stray from his original mission, he put it to one side and decided to stick to the task at hand — making UFO with cola.

“I’ll show you a real collaboration!” P.K. shouted as he poured not one but two bottles of Coke into a pot, heating it all up until it reached a gentle boil.

Then he poured it over the noodles…

…and drained the liquid, just as he would when making a regular cup of UFO, only this time there was no water in the mix, only Coca-Cola.

Peeling the lid off the bowl, P.K. added the included seasonings and sauce as usual, and in the end it looked no different to a regular serving of UFO yakisoba.

To truly test the might of this “Coca-Cola UFO”, P.K. made up a regular batch with plain hot water to compare the two side-by-side.

▼ Regular version (left), Coca-Cola version (right)

P.K.’s eyes glistened with excitement as he took a seat and grabbed a pair of chopsticks to begin this taste adventure. Starting with the regular version, he took a big slurp and swallowed, enjoying the familiar flavour of the rich sauce and smooth noodles that make this the best-selling cup yakisoba in Japan.

▼ Then it was time to dip into a new, forbidden flavour…

The Coca-Cola UFO was noticeably darker, and after piling a mound of it into his mouth, P.K. was surprised to find that the sweetness of the cola had imparted an extra layer of mellowness and richness to the mix.

It took the already great-tasting noodles to a higher level that P.K. had never thought possible. The impact on the taste buds was so great that going back to the regular version after this left him feeling like something was missing.

He was so surprised by the taste that he brought four of his colleagues in to see if they thought his concoction was superior too. They sat down and tasted each bowl without knowing which was the regular version, and three out of the four of them chose P.K.’s Coca-Cola UFO as the tastier option.

They all agreed that it tasted as if P.K. had added extra sauce to it, specifically okonomiyaki sauce, which is known for being thick and sweet. As soon as they said that, P.K. realised this is exactly what it tasted like — UFO yakisoba with an extra punch of sweet sauciness.

It really is a fantastic combination that P.K. recommends you try, but you’ll want to be careful as this is a forbidden flavour that you may never be able to return from ever again.

As for Nissin’s Breakfast Cup Noodles with sausage, eggs and pancakes, well…that’s a totally different story.

Related: Nissin Yakisoba UFO Official Website
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[ Read in Japanese ]